2010 North Carolina State Football Predictions

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In three seasons on the job head coach Tom O’Brien is yet to break through with a winning campaign. Following a 5-7 showing in 2009, O’Brien is now just 16-21 since taking over as North Carolina State head man.  Offense has not been the problem. Led by quarterback Russell Wilson, N.C. State averaged 30.3 points per game in 2009. However, the defense gave up 31.2 points per game last season.  N.C. State has now lost six or more games in five of the last six seasons and seven games in three straight seasons. The Wolfpack have proven they can beat just about anyone on any given day.  Just last season they defeated quality opponents Pitt and North Carolina.   But this is a program that is still searching for consistency, and that consistency won’t come until major improvement is made on the defensive side of the football.

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Offense: Wilson was taken by the Colorado Rockies in the fourth round of this year’s MLB draft, but Wolfpack fans can breathe a sigh of relief because their starting quarterback will be back to play his junior season. Wilson helped N.C. State boast the second-best passing offense in the ACC in 2009 while throwing for 3,027 yards and 31 touchdowns.  He also managed 260 yards and four more scores on the ground. With wide receivers Jarvis Williams and Owen Spencer back, along with All-ACC tight end George Bryan, Wilson appears poised for another big season through the air. The Wolfpack must break in three new starters on the offensive line. That could hurt an already poor running game, but Wilson has enough mobility in the pocket to make plays even when his protection breaks down. Anything N.C. State can get from the running game will be a plus. Curtis Underwood and James Washington will likely get the most carries.

Defense: N.C. State ranked No. 11 in the ACC (99th nationally) in scoring defense last season. The Wolfpack will have to do a better job of keeping teams out of the end zone if they hope to make a bowl game. The Pack don’t have a lot coming back, but they will benefit from the return of linebacker Nate Irving. Irving missed the 2009 season after suffering a broken leg and a collapsed lung in a car crash. He has battled his way back and now appears ready to lead the defense. He will be aided by fellow linebacker Audie Cole. Cole is the team’s top returning tackler, notching 85 stops in 2009. These two will be asked to have monster seasons playing behind a line that loses four starters. Safeties Earl Wolff and Brandon Bishop, and cornerbacks C.J. Wilson and Rashard Smith, have the potential to make up a solid secondary, but the boys up front must help this unit out by getting to the quarterback.

Prediction: 4th ACC Atlantic – It looks like the Wolfpack will have to win shootouts again in 2010 unless the defense can surprise, but I’m not that optimistic about a unit that gave up 27 or more points in all of its conference games last season. College football odds makers have listed North Carolina State at +650 to win the ACC Atlantic. Check out my 2010 ACC football predictions to see who I have winning the overall league title. My 2010 college football predictions reveal all of my FBS conference champion picks.

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